Bookkeeping
Chart of accounts design
Chart of accounts design for Hong Kong companies: accounts structured around how your business actually operates and how HKFRS statements are laid out, so your monthly reports and your practising CPA's audit both start from categories that already make sense.
Bank reconciliation summary
Illustrative client · August 2026
HKD
| Account | Difference | Status | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operating account··4821 | 184,220.16 | 184,220.16 | 0.00 | Reconciled |
| Reserve account··0937 | 60,000.00 | 60,000.00 | 0.00 | Reconciled |
| Company card··1006 | (12,418.52) | (12,418.52) | 0.00 | Reconciled |
| Card processor clearing | 8,905.40 | 8,905.40 | 0.00 | Reconciled |
| Payroll clearing | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | Reconciled |
Last weekly runFri 28 Aug, every account agreed to its statement.
Two open itemsTwo card receipts requested from you, marked on the card account until they arrive.
Illustrative. An example of the document, not a client's figures.
Why the chart of accounts matters at audit time
A chart of accounts inherited from another market, or bolted together account by account over time, tends to fall apart at exactly the point it matters most: when a practising Hong Kong CPA sits down to audit the year. Categories that do not map cleanly to how HKFRS statements are presented mean extra reclassification work, and extra audit hours, before the numbers can even be tested.
How we design it
We map your chart of accounts to your actual revenue streams and cost structure, then align the top-level groupings with how a Hong Kong profit and loss account and balance sheet are normally presented, so the audit trail from ledger to statutory accounts is short and obvious rather than requiring translation.
Two-tier tax and unincorporated structures
Because Hong Kong's profits tax bands differ for corporations (8.25% then 16.5%) and unincorporated businesses (7.5% then 15%), the chart also separates any activity that might sit under a different entity type, so nothing gets blended in a way that muddies which band applies where a group runs more than one structure.
MPF and payroll accounts
We give MPF employer and employee contributions their own accounts rather than folding them into a general payroll expense line, since the 5% each-party contribution rate and the HK$7,100 to HK$30,000 relevant-income band are figures your accountant and auditor will want to see clearly, not buried.
Migration without losing history
Where you already have a working chart of accounts, we map old accounts to new ones so prior-period comparisons still hold after the change, rather than starting the ledger over. See monthly bookkeeping for how the new structure gets used going forward, or book a call to talk through your current setup.
Questions
Frequently asked questions: Chart of accounts design
Does this help my statutory audit go faster?
Yes. A chart that already maps to how HKFRS statements are presented cuts down the reclassification work your practising CPA would otherwise do first.
Do you separate MPF contributions from general payroll costs?
Yes. Employer and employee MPF contributions get their own accounts rather than being folded into a single payroll expense line.
We already have a chart of accounts. Do you rebuild it from scratch?
Only where it is genuinely holding back reporting or audit readiness. Often we tidy and consolidate an existing chart instead of starting over.
How long does a chart of accounts redesign usually take?
A few days once we understand how your business earns and spends money, followed by a review with you before anything is rebuilt in Xero, QuickBooks Online or Zoho Books, so the new structure is agreed before it goes live.
Does changing the chart of accounts disrupt reporting from prior periods?
Historical transactions can be remapped to the new structure so comparisons still work, or left on the old structure with the new one starting from a chosen date; which approach fits depends on how far back you want clean comparisons.
We already have a chart of accounts. Do you rebuild it?
Only where it is genuinely holding back your reporting. Often we tidy and consolidate an existing chart rather than starting over.
Will a new chart of accounts break my historical reports?
No. We map old accounts to new ones so prior-period comparisons still work after the change.
Who reviews the work before it reaches us?
Every deliverable under chart of accounts design is reviewed by a senior reviewer before it reaches you. You keep access to the underlying file at every stage, so nothing about the work happens somewhere you cannot see it.
What is included in chart of accounts design?
Chart of accounts design covers a chart of accounts mapped to your revenue streams and cost structure and account numbering and naming that stays consistent as you grow. The exact scope is agreed and set out in writing before work starts, so you know precisely what is and is not covered before the first deliverable arrives.
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Next step
Talk to the team that would run your books
A short call covers your setup, your software and what a first month would look like. You get a written scope and price after it.